Publication Ethics

The Journal of Exercise Physiology and Human Performance (JOSPHE) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and takes all possible measures against publication malpractice. JOSPHE follows internationally recognized ethical guidelines and best practices in scholarly publishing, including the principles established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

All parties involved in the publication process—including editors, reviewers, authors, and the publisher—are expected to adhere to the ethical standards described below.

 

Responsibilities of Editors

Editors are responsible for evaluating submitted manuscripts solely on the basis of their academic merit, originality, scientific quality, methodological rigor, ethical integrity, and relevance to the journal's aims and scope. Editorial decisions shall not be influenced by the authors' race, gender, nationality, institutional affiliation, religious beliefs, political views, or other personal characteristics.

Editors must:

  • Ensure a fair, objective, timely, and confidential peer-review process.
  • Select qualified reviewers with appropriate expertise.
  • Manage conflicts of interest involving editors, reviewers, and authors.
  • Maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts.
  • Take reasonable steps to identify and prevent publication misconduct.
  • Follow COPE recommendations when handling ethical concerns, corrections, or retractions.

Editors must not use unpublished information disclosed in submitted manuscripts for their own research or personal advantage without the authors' explicit written consent.

 

Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers assist editors in making editorial decisions and contribute to improving the scientific quality of manuscripts.

Reviewers should:

  • Conduct reviews objectively, fairly, and constructively.
  • Provide evidence-based comments that help authors improve their work.
  • Maintain confidentiality of all manuscript information.
  • Identify relevant published work not cited by the authors.
  • Declare any actual or potential conflicts of interest and decline review when appropriate.
  • Complete reviews within the agreed review period whenever possible.
  • Avoid using information obtained through peer review for personal or professional advantage.

 

Responsibilities of Authors

Authors must present an accurate, honest, and transparent account of the research performed and provide sufficient detail to allow replication whenever applicable.

Authors are expected to:

  • Submit only original work.
  • Properly acknowledge the work of others through appropriate citation.
  • Avoid plagiarism, self-plagiarism, data fabrication, data falsification, and image manipulation.
  • Ensure that all listed authors have made substantial scholarly contributions to the study.
  • Obtain approval from all co-authors before manuscript submission.
  • Disclose all financial and non-financial conflicts of interest.
  • Acknowledge all funding sources.
  • Report any significant errors discovered after publication promptly to the Editor.
  • Refrain from submitting the same manuscript simultaneously to more than one journal.

Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, integrity, and originality of all submitted content, including any content prepared with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) tools. AI technologies must not be listed as authors.

 

Publication Misconduct

JOSPHE does not tolerate any form of publication misconduct, including but not limited to:

  • Plagiarism
  • Self-plagiarism
  • Data fabrication
  • Data falsification
  • Image manipulation
  • Citation manipulation
  • Duplicate submission
  • Duplicate publication
  • Salami publication
  • Improper authorship attribution
  • Undisclosed conflicts of interest
  • Peer-review manipulation

Any allegation of misconduct will be investigated following COPE recommendations. Depending on the severity of the case, appropriate actions may include:

  • Requesting clarification or revision
  • Manuscript rejection
  • Publication of corrections
  • Expression of concern
  • Article retraction
  • Notification to the authors' institutions or funding agencies where appropriate

 

Conflict of Interest

Authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose any financial, professional, institutional, academic, or personal relationships that could influence—or reasonably be perceived to influence—the evaluation, interpretation, or publication of research findings.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

  • Research funding
  • Employment
  • Consultancy
  • Honoraria
  • Stock ownership
  • Leadership positions
  • Institutional affiliations
  • Personal or professional relationships

When no conflicts exist, authors should state:

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

 

Research Ethics

Research involving human participants—including athletes, patients, workers, students, healthcare professionals, and members of the general population—must comply with internationally recognized ethical standards, including the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki, where applicable.

Authors must obtain approval from an appropriate Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Ethics Committee whenever required by applicable regulations. The manuscript should include the name of the approving institution and the ethics approval number whenever available.

Authors should also confirm that informed consent was obtained from participants whenever applicable.

Research involving animals must comply with relevant institutional, national, and international guidelines for animal welfare. Authors should clearly describe measures taken to minimize pain, distress, and unnecessary suffering.

 

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Authors may use artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted technologies only to improve language, grammar, or readability. Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, integrity, originality, and scientific validity of all submitted content.

AI tools must not be credited as authors because they cannot assume responsibility for the published work.

Where AI has been used in manuscript preparation, authors should disclose its use in the manuscript in accordance with the journal's author guidelines.

 

Retraction, Correction, and Withdrawal Policy

JOSPHE reserves the right to retract, correct, or withdraw published articles when clear evidence exists of:

  • Unreliable findings
  • Ethical misconduct
  • Plagiarism
  • Duplicate publication
  • Serious methodological or factual errors
  • Other circumstances that compromise the integrity of the scholarly record

Corrections, expressions of concern, and retractions will be published transparently, permanently linked to the original article, and handled in accordance with COPE recommendations to preserve the integrity of the scholarly record.